Gas or liquid seal



W. H. WRIGHT El AL GAS OR LIQUTD SEAL Aug. 20, 1940.

Filed Aug. 20, 1937 W lbert H Jrr y l Vr/ght WIN/61m Hing fiaflard azm, 4%!" M Patented Aug. 20, 1940 PATENT OFFICE 2,212,138 GAS a LIQUID SEAL Wilbert Harry Wright,

Follansbee, W. Va., and

William King Ballard, Steubenville, Ohio Application August 20,

6 Claims.

This invention relates generally to seals, and more particularly to a gas or liquid seal for use around a member to prevent leakage of gas or liquid around the member. The invention will be described herein particularly as applied to a gas seal for use around a gauge rod of a blast furnace in order to prevent gas and fiue dust from escaping from the opening through which the gauge rod extends. The gauge rod is used for indicating the height of the burden in the blast furnace, so that the operator will know when it is necessary to add further burden or stock to the furnace. The lower end of the gauge rod rests on the burden and, as the height of the burden becomes lower, the gauge rod lowers with it. The gas temperature of a blast furnace near the top of the burden may be of the order of 500? F. and the gas pressure equivalent to a column of water approximately 45" in height. A seal for a gauge rod of a blast furnace must, therefore, be rugged enough to withstand these high temperatures and pressures but in addition must be sensitive enough so as to allow the. gauge rod to slide through the seal as the bu den in the furnace falls. The seal hereinafter described has been found to successfully meet all of these requirements. The invention, however, is of general applicability for preventlng leakage of gas, liquid, or dust around any stationary or movable member.

In the accompanying drawing which illustrates the present preferred embodiment of our invention,

Figure l is a vertical section through the sealing device and a portion of a blast furnace to which the sealing device is connected.

Figure 2 is a horizontal section taken on the line II-II of Figure 1.

Figure 3 is an enlarged plan view of aportion of the structure shown in Figure 2 andillustrating a portion of one of the sealing discs; and

Figure 4 is a vertical section taken on the line IV-IV of Figure 3 through one of the sealing discs.

Referring more particularly to the accompanying drawing, a rod 2, such as a gauge rod for a blast furnace, extends into an opening 3 in the top 4 of the furnace. According to the present invention, a sealing device indicated generally by the reference numeral 5 is employed around the rod 2 for preventing exit of gases and flue dust through the opening 3 around the rod. The sealing device is secured to the top 4 of the furnace by means. of bolts 6 passing through holes I provided in ears 8 formed on the lower til 1937, Serial No. 160,018

end of a, substantially cylindrical housing or holder 9. The bolts pass through corresponding openings It in the top 4, and a sealing gasket II is inserted between the bottom of the housing and the top 4 of the furnace.

The sealing device comprises a plurality of thin discs I2 which may be made of heat resisting and corrosion resistant steel spaced apart from each other along the rod 2 by spacing rings hereinafter described. These discs are thin, in the embodiment shown being only a few thousandths of an inch thick. As shown in detail in Figure 3, each of the discs is provided with a series of. small holes I3 punched or drilled at' equal distances from the center of the disc. Each of the discs is provided with a central hole id for receiving the rod 2 and the disc is provided with slits I5 extending from the small holes I3 to the central hole IA. The slits I5 divide the inner portion of the disc into a plurality of strips or fingers I6 which are resilient and which engage the rod 2 so as to form a gastight seal therewith. The diameter of the hole It in the disc is made slightly less than the diameter of the rod 2 with which the ends of the fingers Ifiengage. In Figure 3, a portion of the periphery of the rod 2 is shown by the broken line designated by the reference numeral I1. The outer diameter of the disc I2 is made slightly smaller than the inner diameter of the cylindrical housing 9, leaving a slight space I8 as indicated in Figure 3, say, of a few thousandths of an inch. The ends of the fingers I 6 bear against the rod 2 and in case the rod is movable, they are free to spring with the movement-of the rod, always maintaining a gas-tight seal. By providing a small space between each disc and the housing 9, the discs are able to move or float and thus find the true center about the rod 2. e

The discs I2 are spaced apart along the rod 2 and within the housing 9 by spacing rings 20. The inner diameter of each of these rings is smaller than the diameter about which the small holes l3 are spaced so that when the discs and spacing rings are assembled as shown in Figure 1, the spacing rings cover the holes I3, thereby preventing fiow of gas through them. The discs I2 and spacing rings 20 are held firmly pressed together by a clamping nut 2| provided with an opening 22 which receives the rod 2. The clamping nut is threaded as indicated by the reference numeral 23 so that it may be threaded into the top of the housing 9 which is also threaded as indicated by the reference numeral 24. Threadengaging the ing the clamping nut into the housing firmly presses the discs and spacing rings together.

ihe fingers 16 formed by slitting the inner portion of each disc 42 enables the central hole 54 of the disc to be made slightly smaller than the diameter of the rod 2, thus insuring a tight joint between the rod and the disc. provide sufiicient flexibility to the disc so that a tight joint is made even though the rod is moved. Another advantage of slitting the disc to provide resilient fingers is that the fingers will tightly engage the rod even though the rod is not truly circular or varies somewhat in diameter along its length. It would be practically impossible to make a sealing device containing a large number of discs in which each of the discs tightly fitted the rod, unless such discs were slit to form the resilient fingers. The fingers formed by the slits impart resilience to the discs thereby enabling them to form a tight joint with the rod, and yet allow movement of the rod even though the rod may not be of exactly the same diameter throughout its length. Even if, in assembling the rod in the sealing device, or due to some other cause, such as unequal expansion or contraction of the parts, the fingers of a, disc are flexed unequally so as to form minute passages for the gas, the seal is still efiective due to the large number of discs Which are employed. It will be noted that the spacing rings 29 overlap a part 25 of the slit portion of the disc. Thus, when the sealing rings and discs are pressed firmly together by the clamping nut 25, the fingers it which may have been fiexed in introducing the rod 2 into the sealing device, are urged again to lie in a plane. This tends to prevent leakage through the slits and also causes the ends of the fingers to tightly engage the rod.

The invention is not limited to the employmentof a cylindricalrod in conjunction with the sealing device, but isapplicable for use with other shaped members, either movable or stationary. Although it is preferred to make the housing 9 substantially cylindrical and to employ sealing discs, we may employ sealing plates which are non-circular in cross section and locate them within a non-circular housing or provide other means for pressing the sealing plate and spacers tightly together.'

Although We have illustrated and described the present preferred embodiment of our inventi'on, it is to be understood that the invention is not so limited, but may be otherwise embodied within the scope of the following claims.

We claimz' l. A seal adapted for use around a member, comprising a plurality of thin fiat plates spaced apart along the member and lying in planes extending atright angles to the axis of the member, each plate provided with a hole for receiving the member. each of said plates being slit adjacent the hole to provide resilient fingers for .emb-er, a separate spacing means between each two adjacent plates, and means for firmly holding said plates and spacing means together.

The fingers 2. A seal adapted for usearound a member, comprising a plurality of thin fiat plates spaced apart along the member and lying in planes extending at right angles to the axis of the member, each plate provided with a hole for receiving the member, each of said plates being slit adjacent the hole to provide resilient fingers for engaging the member, a separate spacing means between each two adjacent plates, a housing for said plates and spacing means, and means for firmly holding said plates and spacing means together within the housing.

3. A seal adapted for use around a member, comprising a plurality of thin fiat plates spaced apart along the member and lying in planes extending at right angles to the axis of the member, each plate provided with a hole for receiving the member, each of said plates being slit adjacent the hole to provide resilient fingers for engaging the member, a separate spacing means between each two adjacent plates, a housing for said plates and spacing means, and a clamping nut'ior firmly holding said plates and spacing means together within the housing.

4. A seal adapted for use around a substantiah ly circular member, comprising a plurality of thin fiat discs spaced apart along the member and lying in planes extending at right angles to the axis of the member, each disc provided with a hole for receiving said member, the hole being slightly smaller than said member, each of said discs being slit adjacent the hole to provide resilient fingers for engaging the member, a, separate spacing means between each two adjacent discs, and means for firmly holding said discs and spacing means together.

5. A seal adapted for use around a substantially circular member, comprising a plurality of thin fiat discs spaced apart along the member and lying in planes extending at right angles to the axis of the member, each disc provided with a hole for receiving said member, the hole being slightly smaller than said member, each of said discs being slit adjacent the hole to provide resilient fingers for engaging the member, a separate spacing means between each two adjacent discs, a housing for said discs and spacing means, the outer diameter of said discs being slightly less than the inside diameter of said housing, and means for firmly holding said discs and spacing means together within the housing.

6. A seal for a gauge rod of a blast furnace, said seal comprising a plurality of thin fiat plates spaced apart along the gauge rod and lying in planes extending at right angles to the axis of the gauge rod, each plate provided with a hole for receiving the gauge rod, each of said plates being slit adjacent the hole to provide resilient fingers for engaging the gauge rod, separate spacing rings between each two adjacent plates, and means for firmly holding said plates and spacing rings together.

. WILBERT HARRY WRIGHT. WILLIAM KING BALLARD. 

